01x01 - Soujirou the Willow-Sword

[bunniefuu]

- [people chattering]

- [bell tolls in distance]

- [laughter]

- [bell continues tolling]

[people clamoring]

[resident 1] This way! Hurry!

[wind blowing]

- [resident 2] Over here!

- [laughter]

- [ground rumbling]

- [residents exclaim]

[crowd murmuring]

- [resident 3] What's going on?

- [resident 4] Are you all right?

[resident 3 exclaims]

[crowd murmuring]

[ground continues rumbling]

- [building cracking]

- [crowd screaming]

Nagan Labyrinth City

[narrator]

This is the story of the first one.

Episode 1

Soujirou the Willow-Sword

But for Yuno the Distant Talon,

it begins with a memory,

of a school friend named Lucelles.

Minia

Yuno the Distant Talon

Huh?

[gasps in awe]

[professor] Word Arts

is the general term for techniques

that distort various natural phenomena,

using the will embedded in words.

Irrespective of the speaker's race

or linguistic system.

Word Arts can only be used in this world.

It doesn't work the same

- [gasps]

- in the world of the so-called visitors.

[Lucelles] Yuno!

- [gasps]

- [giggles]

Are you busy today?

W Well, not really.

How come?

Can you teach me Force Arts?

Huh?

Me?

[Lucelles] Yep, you're great at it, Yuno.

It's better than my other arts, but

[Lucelles] I'm counting on you, then.

Okay?

O-Okay.

[Yuno] We lived in Nagan Labyrinth City,

a town of scholars and explorers,

that was built from the center

of the Great Labyrinth of Kiyazuna,

the self-proclaimed Demon King.

[metal clanging]

- [bangs]

- [grunts]

[swordsmen clamoring]

[shouts]

[powering down]

[thuds]

[swordsman 1] We got it!

[swordsman 2] I can't believe

it came out from the Great Labyrinth.

[swordsman 3]

It probably went in after a bandit.

[swordsmen gasp]

[swordsman 4] It's on the move again!

[swordsman 5] The seal!

Find its life seal!

[metal clanking in distance]

Like this?

From Lucelles to the stone of Nagan.

Scales of the sky.

Waves of red grain. Dance.

[stone ringing]

- [chuckles]

- You're great at this!

[Lucelles] That's poisonous, you know?

What?

[Lucelles] That's why the Central Kingdom

crowned Sephite

of the United Western Kingdom as Queen

and created Aureatia.

Is that so?

[Lucelles]

Yuno, do you have a crush on anyone?

[Yuno] What?

Uh

[Lucelles] They say the Great Labyrinth

must have so many secrets and relics,

that we could never fully unearth it all,

even when we become adults.

[Yuno] Right.

[Lucelles] No matter who you are

or what your past is,

the path to glory is open to everyone.

[giggles]

[Yuno gasps]

[Yuno] There's no need

to be scared of anything anymore.

The True Demon King is dead.

The age of fear is over.

Now, the two of us

can dream of a future filled with glory.

[chatter and laughter]

- [ground rumbling]

- [all screaming]

[structure cracking]

[gasps]

- [structure cracking]

- [yelps]

[both gasping]

[disembodied voices]

- [both gasping]

- [object whirring]

[Yuno] But this was that future.

[coughing]

[Lucelles groans]

[Lucelles whimpers]

[Yuno sobbing]

Lucelles

Lucelles!

[Lucelles shrieking in agony]

[shrieking continues]

[blood splattering]

[Yuno] No

Stop!

[gasps]

[Yuno screaming]

[panting]

[resident] P Please help

[loud thud]

[Yuno grunts]

[foreboding music playing]

[Yuno gasps]

No

[Yuno screams]

No!

[Yuno breathing heavily]

died too.

I should have

died too.

[Yuno] Nobody understood.

Nobody understood anything.

Even though the True Demon King had died,

it wasn't the end.

[Yuno sobbing]

No! Make it stop!

- [footsteps approaching]

- [gasps]

[Yuno] From Yuno

to the Arrowhead of Fipike.

Index finger axis. Lattice star.

Exploding sparks. Spin!

[thuds]

Huh?

[Yuno] Why?

Why did you die just from that?

That means Lucelles

could have been saved!

[in strained voice]

I could have saved her

- [approaching footsteps]

- [gasps]

From Yuno to the Arrowhead of Fipike.

Index finger axis. Lattice star.

Exploding sparks. Spin!

- [thuds]

- [Yuno trembling]

Go ahead and k*ll me

Go on.

You'll k*ll me

no matter what I say, right?

Fine by me! I want to die!

That's right! I

[metallic ringing]

[metallic ringing]

[crashing]

Huh?

Yo.

[Yuno whimpers]

[gasps]

So you like dying, huh?

- Well?

- [gasps]

I'm asking if you like dying.

[Yuno trembling]

Yes I mean no.

What's up with you?

You're going to miss out.

Things are about to get fun for humans.

F-Fun?

Yup. Once everything else goes away.

[visitor] You'll get to choose

where you go and what you do.

Won't that be great?

[Yuno] You couldn't do something like this

with a chipped practice sword.

Wait

Are you a visitor?

So, you call us that in this town, too?

Well, call us what you like.

It doesn't interest me.

[Yuno gasps]

Surely not

Did you defeat them all?

[visitor] There are machines

in this world too, huh?

What are they called again? Golems?

No number of them can match my sword.

[grunts]

- [Yuno] No match for your sword?

- [gags]

These leaves aren't edible!

[Yuno] Yeah.

Bundleroot grass is poisonous.

[visitor] I thought so.

Don't you have any food on you?

[Yuno] You should run away from here.

You must!

No matter how strong you are,

this place is doomed!

Come on, don't get angry.

Why is it doomed?

Why, you ask?

[shouts]

Can't you see that?

[Yuno] Can you k*ll that thing

with just one sword?

[tense music playing]

The Great Labyrinth itself

turned out to be one huge golem.

It might be a monster created to defeat

the True Demon King!

[gasps]

Heh.

- [grunts]

- [crashing]

[thuds]

[trembling]

[visitor] So you've got no food?

I'm even fine with grass or bugs.

[grunts]

I still haven't had breakfast.

I I have some travel ration.

But it doesn't really taste of much.

[visitor]

Talking to you is a bit of a pain.

All right, give me some of that.

Call it an exchange.

[Yuno] An exchange?

I'll take care of that

huge lump of metal for you.

I was just getting around to it, actually.

[visitor] This will be fun, huh?

[Yuno trembling]

[visitor] Very fun.

[Yuno] W Who the heck are you?

[visitor] Soujirou Yagyuu,

of the Yagyuu Shinkage-ryu.

I'm the last Yagyuu on Earth.

[narrator] A visitor

from the Distant World,

much different from ours.

That swordsman arrived

with the darkest of omens.

Ishura

Golem, Word Arts of Life

[Soujirou] That move you did before,

it was Word Arts, right?

- How do you do it?

- [Yuno] Huh?

[Soujirou] You did it just now!

When you fired out that arrowhead.

You can at least teach me that.

I was taught

that visitors can't use this power.

[Yuno] "The Distant World of the visitors

is built solely on the laws of physics.

They speak only using words of sound,

so it's beyond their understanding."

[Soujirou] Words of sound?

Oh, I see.

It's not like you speak Japanese here.

[Yuno] Word Arts is the reason

we can communicate right now.

We use Word Arts to ask the air or objects

to do things like move or burn.

[Soujirou groans]

I don't really get it, so whatever.

Huh?

A sword is much better.

[gasps]

You'll die!

[Soujirou] Doesn't matter.

[gasps]

[Yuno] Everyone is dead.

k*lling that thing now won't change that.

Running away is the obvious thing to do!

[Soujirou] Why's that?

[hesitates]

Because

once you die it's all over.

- All over, huh?

- [gasps]

[Soujirou] So we give up just because

the enemy is an unbeatable monster?

[Yuno] Well,

what can I possibly do?

Against that walking disaster?

- I can't ask you to fight.

- [Soujirou] You're not involved in this.

[Yuno gasps]

I'm going to fight it

because it'll be fun.

[Soujirou] There's no way it won't be fun.

Just look.

[golem growling]

- [Soujirou] Time to do this.

- [Yuno] Huh

[action music playing]

[grunts]

[Yuno gasping]

[snickers]

[gasps]

[Yuno] How?

How is he so fast?

[exclaims]

[Yuno groans]

[breathes shakily, gasps]

[action music continues playing]

[blasting]

[snickering]

[chuckles]

[grunts]

[clanks]

[expl*si*n]

[golem]

From Nagan to the heart of Naganeruya.

Flow of angular clouds.

Edge of heaven and earth.

Overflowing vast ocean.

[humming]

[Yuno] There it is.

The light that scorched the city.

[Yuno] That monster

can even use Thermal Arts.

[golem] Burn.

[silence]

[rumbling]

[expl*si*n]

[suspenseful music playing]

- [shouts]

- [sword clanks]

[gasps]

[powering down]

[tense music playing]

[metal crashing]

[gasps]

[heavy thud]

Thanks a lot.

Those golems you chucked out

were the perfect footholds.

My prediction was that

it wouldn't harm itself

with its own Word Arts.

[grandiose music playing]

- [Soujirou] I see.

- [metal scratching]

For you

it all comes down

to that.

[grandiose music continues]

[narrator] Eighth year of the Eiroku Era.

Although it is

an anecdote of uncertain authenticity,

the founder of Yagyuu Shinkage-ryu,

Muneyoshi Yagyuu,

is said to have defeated a student

of master swordsman Kamiizumi Nobutsuna,

with the Mutodori technique.

Is it really possible to dodge

an opponent's attack,

then steal their weapon

and use their own momentum

to defeat them?

[sword clanging]

It is possible.

[grandiose music rises]

[Soujirou] I see it now. Your life seal.

There it is!

[sword ringing]

I'll take that.

Your weapon is mine now.

[powering down]

[wind rushing]

And this is what they call Mutodori.

[golem crashing]

[powering down]

[fire rumbling]

[Yuno] He really defeated it.

But why?

Why did the Great Labyrinth

start moving today?

Don't tell me it's because of Soujirou.

Did it react automatically

to his strength?

Or

Did he activate it on purpose

because he wanted to fight it?

I cut it up!

[Soujirou] It was more fun

than cutting up an M1.

[Yuno] M1?

[Soujirou] Yep, an M1 Abrams.

A tank. Understand?

[scoffs]

Yeah, I thought not.

The people here just don't get it.

Why?

[Yuno] How?

[Soujirou]

If you imagine you created them,

you can easily discover their life seal.

[Soujirou] Not their legs,

which are close to the ground.

The waist carries too much bulk.

The chest is a flame-throwing weapon.

It struck first with its left arm.

That just left the right arm.

[trembling breath]

[Soujirou] All right, I'm off.

W-Wait.

Huh?

Here. Travel ration for you

Oh, yeah! I was feeling hungry.

[chuckles]

I had so much fun I completely forgot.

Thanks.

[gobbling]

This tastes good!

[chuckles]

Better than bugs or grass.

- Maybe this world isn't all that bad.

- [Yuno] I see.

I

hate strong people.

Strong people

who made my life insignificant.

Even once everything is destroyed,

and even tragedies are trampled over,

a weakling like me

won't even have a right to deny that it.

That's why,

even if it ends up being wrong,

I have to support myself with something.

[slurping]

All right, moving on.

Time to find something even more fun.

Which way should I go?

- [Yuno] Aureatia.

- [Soujirou] Huh?

[Yuno] You should go to Aureatia.

It's become the largest country there is.

Is that right?

Are there some strong folks there?

[Yuno] There are.

[exclaims excitedly]

The Council of Aureatia is gathering

heroes from around the world.

[Yuno] They're planning

to do something big.

[Soujirou chuckles]

Perfect.

[Yuno] There are people

who can k*ll this man.

That's right, in this world,

there are strong people who can do that.

That's why, there are surely enemies

out there who won't lose even to you.

There's the Second General of Aureatia,

who everybody knows the name of.

Rosclay the Absolute.

I know of Toroa the Awful,

who hides away

in the distant Wyte Mountains.

Krafnir the Hatch of Truth,

who speaks of mastering

an unknown fifth system of Word Arts.

There's the visitor who liberated

the Great Ice Fortress nine years ago,

Kazuki the Black Tone.

Or Lucnoca the Winter,

who nobody has ever seen.

In this world,

countless threats and truths still remain.

I have to know who this man is.

I must find out,

what exactly the Distant World is.

[Yuno] I'll guide you there.

As a scholar of Nagan, that is.

That way,

Aureatia won't suspect us.

Nice. I like that expression.

- My expression?

- [Soujirou] Anyway, thanks for this.

This means you can

do whatever you want from here on.

You're free.

Right. Thank you too.

[Yuno] I'm free

Now that I've lost everything,

I feel like I can do something wild.

What's your name?

Yuno.

Yuno the Distant Talon.

[narrator] The horizon is crawling

with countless shura.

This is the story of the first one.

The one who can defeat

numerous golems using only his sword.

The one who exercises

supreme swordsmanship

that reduces widespread legends

into mere truths.

The one who understands

the vital spots of all living creatures,

and possesses an instinct for slaughter.

He couldn't even be contained

in the reality of his own world.

He is the last swordsman.

He is a Blade. He is a minia.

He is Soujirou the Willow-Sword.

[theme music playing]

ISHURA

[fire rumbling]

[Soujirou grunts]

[sword clinks]

[Yuno gasps]

[Soujirou] Looks like someone was

only after their life seals.

Heh.

So there's another one out there.

[muffled gasp]

[snickers]

Next: Episode 2

Alus the Star Runner